Love & Redemption

by Chantel Rhondeau

  She looped her arm through his, even though she knew people watched them. Screw it. He pretty much let them all know we’re a couple with his actions. “I know you did, but we have to focus on our real enemy. Ken isn’t a problem for us.”

  Gavin glanced at their linked arms and met her gaze. “You’re sure?”

  “About Ken?” She wrinkled her nose. “You’re not worried about him are you? After everything we discussed, I thought you trusted me again.”

  “I never stopped trusting you. I got confused.” His hand closed over the one she had clutched to his forearm and patted it. “I meant about this.”

  “I do worry about us being taken seriously, but I worry mostly about your reputation. If you don’t care to protect that from the ravages of being seen as my boy toy, I can’t protect you.”

  He laughed. “It’s official, then. We’re together. If anyone has a problem with it, it’s their problem.”

  Shelley hoped that was all that came of it. There was a good chance Gavin would work with these same FBI agents later in his work for Nick. She just hoped he didn’t try to fight them all in her defense.

  She shook her head at herself. Already she imagined this as something long term, as though Gavin would have a reason to defend her honor later when he worked cases without her. It had never worked out with any other man. Why did it feel so different with him?

  “Thanks, Gavin.” She bumped him with her hip and grinned.

  His eyebrow rose. “For...?”

  “I’ve never looked forward to the future, but with—”

  “Agent Daniels?” There was a commotion at the doorway, and Shelley whirled to face the young female officer who ran into the room.

  “I’m Agent Daniels. What’s wrong?”

  “There’s a call for you on line two,” she answered. “He said if anyone listened in, more people would die.”

  It felt like someone punched her in the gut. Shelley hadn’t expected the next disaster to come so soon. “What do I do, Jen?”

  The younger agent pulled Dan’s laptop in front of her and tapped out something on the screen. “Keep him talking as long as you can. Stay calm. If it’s Stephen, he enjoys taunting you. Maybe you can keep him on the phone long enough for me to track his position.”

  Shelley took a deep breath and crossed the room to the indicated phone, Gavin sticking close to her side. With a shaky hand, she lifted the receiver. “This is Agent Daniels. What do you want?”

  “Shelley. I never expected to talk to the beauty queen again. How’s life treating you, my dear?”

  Her heart rate increased and she clenched the phone tighter. “Paul? I can’t say the last few days have been great.”

  Paul Billings chuckled in his grandfatherly fashion, always jovial before the threats. “I can’t say it’s been nice for me, either. You have something of mine.”

  “Nope. Actually I don’t.”

  “You already surrendered them to Nick’s little FBI wench, didn’t you?”

  “Did you really think you’d get them back?” Shelley forced a laugh. “I warned you Stephen was too big of a prick to work for S.A.T.O. Want to know why you didn’t get your precious diamonds back?”

  “Do tell.”

  “Stephen’s so hung up on possessing Carlie, he wanted to keep me alive to lure her to him. He had me in his grasp, but wouldn’t shoot me. If you want to blame someone for the screw up, I’d start with your two lapdogs.”

  That should give the man something else to focus on, at least. If he couldn’t trust his most favored employees, it might cause Paul to make mistakes. That’s what they needed from him. A whole bunch of mistakes.

  Jenessa swore under her breath, and Shelley glanced over to see her pounding on the keyboard. “Every time I think I have it, the signal changes. How the hell is he doing this?”

  Dan shook his head, looking as baffled as Jenessa. “I’ve never seen something like this. Where’s it coming from? It’s bouncing from so many different towers. I don’t even think he’s in the city.”

  That didn’t sound good. She had to keep him talking until Jenessa figured it out.

  “Look, Paul, is there something you wanted from me? You had to know I didn’t keep those diamonds.”

  “Why did you turn your back on me, Shelley? I had high hopes for what you could accomplish. Once I figure out the bracelets and how they can work, I need someone beautiful enough, yet skilled enough, to get inside information.” He sighed. “Where did I go wrong with you?”

  “Perhaps it was your lies.” Shelley knew she shouldn’t antagonize him, but Paul wouldn’t expect her to play nice. She never had before. “Did you really think I’d work against my country? Kill innocent people for money?”

  “There are no innocent people,” he countered. “Sooner or later, they all betray you. Watch your back with that Gavin fellow. Once a thief, always a thief. Mark my words.”

  “Once an asshole, always an asshole.” Shelley laughed. “Yep, it works for you, too.”

  “So you do care about Gavin?” Paul sounded excited by that.

  Shelley cursed herself. Sometimes a big mouth wasn’t an asset, but at least she’d kept him talking. Now to keep Gavin safe. “Not particularly. He was my mission. Protect him until the jewels were in the FBI’s hands. I’d be on my way home now, if you hadn’t set Terrance loose on the mall.”

  “Got it,” Jenessa said.

  Simultaneously, Dan said, “Crap. That’s not good. Travers, get this building on lock down.”

  On the other end of the phone, Paul laughed. “You disappoint me, Shelley. I thought this would be more fun, but your tech department is so slow. Think they’ll disarm the bomb inside the precinct before it kills you all? You have ten minutes.”

  The line went dead in her ear. Everyone in the room was running around, and Shelley could no longer see Jenessa.

  “Get everyone out!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “There’s a bomb.”

  That stopped the chaos for a moment as they all looked at her.

  “That’s impossible.” Jenessa stood from the table. “According to my trace, the call he made came from inside this building.”

  “He just wants to escape,” Dan agreed.

  “No.” Shelley shook her head. “We need to evacuate. Whatever he did to scramble your trace on the call, he was never in this building. I believe him. There’s a bomb.”

  Ken walked between them, shaking his head. “It’s a ploy. No one leaves until we find this bastard.”

  Shelley grabbed Gavin’s hand, seeing her own fear reflected in his eyes.

  “Jenessa,” she said, looking back at the other agent and trying to insert some reason, “someone here is lying. We can’t trust these people. Let’s get out and then decide what to do. Paul isn’t here. I promise you.”

  Quicker than she’d ever seen anyone move, Ken jerked his gun from its holster beneath his jacket and pointed it at Shelley’s head. Soon, everyone in the room carrying a gun had it out and was pointing it either at Ken or Shelley.

  Ken sneered. “You keep accusing someone here of being a double agent, Daniels, but you’re the only person who actually worked for Paul Billings and was part of S.A.T.O.”

  Murmurs broke out in the room from the others and guns pointing at Ken waivered.

  “How do we know you aren’t the double agent?” he asked. “Paul’s using you to distract us all.”

  Shelley slowly held her hands up, taking a step sideways to protect Gavin in case someone shot at her. “Why would he come inside here to call me? He’s not a stupid man. Paul planted a bomb in the building and the phone call was to distract us. Maybe it was the trigger to start the countdown or something. He said we have ten minutes.”

  “That’s probably a lie,” Ken said.

  “He’s certainly capable of lying, but I don’t want to take any chances.” Shelley tried to keep her voice level, praying someone didn’t get nervous and shoot. If one gun went off, they probably all would. “I d
on’t care who’s guilty right now of what, I just want us to get outside. Your theory doesn’t make any sense. Paul isn’t in this building. The more time we waste arguing, the greater chance that someone is going to get killed.”

  Some more guns lowered at these words, but the entire room seemed to wait for Ken’s decision.

  He shook his head. “I don’t trust you.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Gavin’s heart pounded so hard it literally pained him. What kind of jerk pulled a gun like that? “Let’s all calm down a minute.” Stepping from behind Shelley, he firmly pushed her to the side. “Ken, whether you believe her or not, standing here with guns aimed at each other won’t get us out of the way of the possible bomb or catch Paul.”

  Though the sneer didn’t entirely leave Ken’s face, he did lower his gun slightly.

  Gavin turned to Jenessa. “Call everyone off, Jen. You’re supposed to be in control.”

  She turned to the FBI agents behind her and nodded, and they all holstered their weapons. Upon seeing that, the cops on the other side of the room followed suit, many of them looking as relieved as Gavin felt.

  “Now you, Ken,” Gavin encouraged. “We’re a team. This is what Paul wants, for us to destroy each other.”

  “Fine.” Ken put his weapon away, still glaring at Shelley. “Let’s get downstairs and search for the bastard.”

  Shelley put her hands on her hips, matching him glare for glare. “No. You might not respect me because I’m a woman and you treat us like objects, but I’m not going to stand around and get killed because you’re too stupid to listen to me.” She turned to Jenessa. “Call a bomb squad and get us out of here.”

  If she kept on in that demanding tone, it was likely to get Ken riled up again. That was the last thing they needed. Gavin believed her about the bomb. Even if Paul was only trying to distract them from his real purpose, everything Shelley told him made it clear he wasn’t above blowing up a police station.

  He put his hand on her arm. “Shelley, let’s stay calm.”

  “Yeah,” Ken agreed. “Listen to the men and don’t worry about the details. We’ll take care of it.”

  Gavin nodded, squeezing her shoulder softly. “We’ll work this out peacefully, okay?”

  She shrugged his hand off her shoulder, transferring her glare to him. “You think I should calm down and let the men handle it, huh? Thanks for the support.”

  Gavin knew she lashed out because Ken’s sexist attitude angered her, but he thought it was the two of them against the others. She seemed pissed with him, too. Suddenly Ken was on his side, and he lost the ally he wanted.

  Jenessa stepped in front of Ken and looked around the room, finally taking charge. “We’re evacuating until we know for sure there isn’t a bomb. Shelley’s right. While Paul isn’t above lying, we can’t take that chance. If he threatened her with a bomb, there’s a possibility of one being here. Everyone help the civilians out in an orderly fashion, and I’ll get the bomb squad on their way.”

  Ken nodded to the officer behind him. “Go make an announcement. She’s in charge, so we’ll do it their way this time.”

  Even if Ken wasn’t happy, Gavin was glad he decided to go along with it. While Shelley seemed sure Ken wasn’t the double agent, Gavin wasn’t as certain. He couldn’t believe Ken pulled his gun.

  However, what mattered now was the evacuation. He could worry about Ken later.

  Grabbing Shelley by the arm, Gavin nodded to the door. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Her lips tightened at the corners, but as the announcement to evacuate went over the stations emergency system, she nodded and led them to the hallway. “I’m sorry I snapped at you,” she said as they headed down the stairs. “I was mad that Ken listened to you and not me, but that’s stupid. We just need to get out of here.”

  “That’s...unexpected.” Gavin knew he shouldn’t say more. Shelley was being fairer than he expected by not taking her anger out on him.

  “I know.” She glanced at him and flashed a grin. “But I’m putting on my big girl panties and dealing with it. Jerks like Ken who think they’re better than me just ‘cause they have a dick will always be a factor. We’d probably still be arguing with guns drawn if you hadn’t stepped in.”

  “Makes you miss having your gun, doesn’t it?”

  She nodded. “I need to ask Jenessa for a replacement.”

  They made it to the last step, looking out across the rapidly emptying room. Everyone was taking the evacuation orders seriously and no one seemed to be in a panic. Well, everyone was evacuating except an elderly lady sitting on a bench in the center of the station.

  “What’s she doing?” Gavin asked.

  Shelley looked at the gray-haired woman and shrugged. “It’s been over five minutes since I talked to Paul. We need to get her out of here.”

  Gavin swerved toward the bench. “Ma’am?” he said loudly. “We’re evacuating the building. You need to get outside.”

  The woman looked at him, her brown eyes disgruntled, and shook her head. “I’ve been waiting here for hours. I’m not leaving until they help me. Someone stole my dentures!”

  Shelley kneeled next to the woman. “I’m Shelley, and this is Gavin. We want to help you, but we have to get out of the building.”

  The woman smiled at Shelley, showing a mouth full of teeth. “I’m Iris.”

  Shelley patted Iris’ gnarled hand. “If someone took your dentures, who’s are in your mouth?”

  Iris ran her tongue over her top teeth, confusion clouding her face as she squinted with concentration. “Oh. Maybe I was here for something else.”

  Shelley stood and leaned to Gavin’s ear. “Grandma Haddy became forgetful before passing. Iris needs our help.” She smiled at the woman and held her hand out. “Come on Iris, we have to go now.”

  Iris looked at Gavin and grinned. “Ah, my grandson came to get me. Such a good boy.”

  Gavin would say whatever he needed to in order to get Iris out of the building. Around them, the entire station had cleared. So much time had passed, Gavin hoped Paul lied about the bomb. It seemed unlikely they’d make it out in time if there was something in the building ready to detonate.

  “That’s right, Grandma,” he said, grabbing Iris beneath her elbow and helping her up. “Time to go.”

  Iris leaned heavily on him once she was in a standing position, seeming rather frail. At least with the bomb squad coming they would also send an ambulance. Gavin didn’t know where Iris truly belong, but she needed medical attention.

  They started toward the door at an agonizingly slow pace. Each trembling step took the woman only half a foot forward.

  Shelley shook her head. “This is too slow. We have to carry her. It’s been seven minutes.”

  Carrying her presented problems of its own. She might get bruised or jostled, maybe break a rib or something. He’d heard elderly people were fragile. However, Shelley was right. In ten minutes, Iris would barely make it to the doorway, let alone get far away from the building.

  As they were about to pick her up, the sound of a door swinging open behind them caught his attention. He and Shelley both turned, watching a man exit the bathroom.

  “What are you doing in there?” Shelley demanded.

  He stopped and stared at the empty station. “Where did everyone go?”

  “Outside,” Gavin answered. “You didn’t hear the announcements?”

  He shook his head. “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “Is anyone else in there?” Shelley asked.

  He walked over to them. “I didn’t pay any attention.”

  “Time’s wasting, Gavin, and now we have another problem.” Shelley turned to the stranger, “We need to get this woman outside. Can you help my friend carry her?”

  Gavin grabbed her hand. “Wait. You’re coming with us, right?”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “What are you doing?”
/>   The man took over Shelley’s position at Iris’ side.

  Shelley backed away. “I’ll be fast.” She walked toward the bathrooms. “Get Iris outside.”

  “What are you doing?” he repeated, panic making his voice go higher. The problem was, he knew what she was doing. That was what made him panic.

  “If the announcement didn’t work in there, I have to make sure no one else is in the bathrooms,” she said, confirming Gavin’s fear. “Hurry. Get Iris outside. I’ll be right there.”

  Although Gavin wanted to argue and tell her he would check while she went to safety, Shelley had already disappeared into the men’s bathroom. She wouldn’t thank him for dallying and not getting Iris out of harm’s way. It would only take her a few seconds to check. He had to focus on Iris now.

  He looked at the stranger, sizing the man up. He was only a little taller than Gavin.

  “I think we should make a chair by locking our hands together,” he said. “Then Iris can hold onto our shoulders and we can get out of here.”

  “What are we racing out for?” he asked.

  “Bomb,” Gavin mouthed, hoping the stranger would keep his composure. With Iris’ confusion, it would be best not to startle her or make things worse than they were. He didn’t want her knowing what the scare was about.

  Though his eyes widened and he sucked in a loud breath, the man nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  Within seconds, they had Iris on their hands and raced for the doorway.

  “Whee!” the old woman yelled. “Like when I took you to the amusement park, Tommy. Remember?”

  “Sure thing, Grandma,” Gavin panted, hitting the door with his hip and bursting through it.

  “Over here, Gavin!”

  He looked up, seeing Jenessa waving him down from the opposite side of the street. A bomb squad vehicle pulled in front of the building and people in bulky green suits poured from the back of it.

  “A woman’s still in there,” he said to one of the men as they ran past, hoping Shelley would follow any second.